Howard and Karen Baldwin are teaming with David E. Kelley to produce a feature based on the origins of the World Hockey Assn. and hockey great Gordie Howe, according to Variety.

Howe will executive produce along with Mike Ilitch Jr., whose family owns the Detroit Red Wings. Kelley will also oversee the scripting process, though it's not yet decided if he'll write.

The announcement coincided with Monday night's Red Wings-Los Angeles Kings game at Staples Center and the 60th anniversary of Howe's first NHL goal. Howe led the Wings to four Stanley Cup championships and scored 1,071 goals as a pro.

The film's story will focus on the 1973-74 season when Howe, then 44, returned to pro hockey after two years in retirement and played on the same team as his two sons, Mark and Marty, in the upstart World Hockey Assn. Howe's wife Colleen served as agent-manager for the trio, which led the Houston Aeros to the championship, with the elder Howe named league MVP.

Kelley will turn his attention to the project following the launch of Life on Mars for ABC.